If
you are looking to purchase a puppy, I urge you to buy
from a RESPONSIBLE breeder, and NOT a pet store. ALL pet stores
buy from puppymills, regardless of what they may tell you. Buying
a puppymill puppy only helps them continue the abuse of these
animals. Their ENTIRE life is spent in a cage.

One
more thing to think about.....
Don't buy that doggie in the window!

10 Reasons NOT to Buy a Puppy from a Pet Shop

Health.
When you buy a puppy from a pet shop, you're spending a lot
of money for a dog whose parents you know nothing about. Have
both parents had healthy problem free lives? Responsible breeders'
goal is to produce healthy pups. What's the pet shop's goal?
If they say "healthy pups," ask them for proof.

That guarantee
isn't worth what you think it is.
Pet shops make a big deal about their "lifetime guarantees".
But ask them what happens when you need $1000+ to correct
crippling hip dysplasia in your six-month-old Yorkie puppy.
The guarantee requires you to give the puppy back so they
can put it to sleep, which is cheaper for them. Then they
give you another puppy, one who might also develop dysplasia.
A guarantee like that is worse than no guarantee at all.

The AKC
myth.
Pet shops want you to think "AKC papers" equals healthy puppies.
It doesn't. The only thing AKC registration means is that
both parents are purebred and AKC registered. The mother (dam)
could be a truly awful example of the breed -- or worse, suffering
from disease or illness -- and the puppies can still be registered.
Don't believe it? Call the AKC at 919-233-9767 and ask them.
A responsible breeder will of course register her puppies
if the breed is one of the 150 or so recognized by the AKC,
but that's only the beginning.

Good luck
with housebreaking.
The puppies you see in the pet-shop window have spent their
lives in cages(as have their mother's,grandmother's,etc.)
. They've never seen grass, or dirt, and they've certainly
never seen carpeting. They've been forced to eliminate in
the same place where they sleep and eat. A responsible breeder
keeps the puppies very clean, and makes sure they have separate
elimination areas. By the time they're ready to go home, well-bred
puppies are often well on the way to being housebroken and
wee wee pad trained.

How about
socialization?
Imagine buying a puppy that has never been inside a house
before! The doorbell, the vacuum cleaner, the dishwasher --
those things can be terrifying to a puppy who has never seen
them. What about neighborhood kids, riding in the car, or
just walking on a leash? A responsible breeder exposes her
puppies to all kinds of new situations, and makes sure they
are confident, happy puppies when they go off to their new
homes.

Plus, when you go to a breeder you generally have more than
one puppy from which to choose. A responsible breeder temperament-tests
her puppies to find out which ones are outgoing or shy or
dominant. Then she matches up owners to make sure that active
puppies go to active homes, and that a shy puppy ends up in
a home that's just right for it. If you're going to spend
all that money, it makes sense to look at several examples
of the breed and then pick a dog that's right for you.

What will
that puppy look like when it grows up?
When you buy a puppy from a responsible breeder, you can usually
meet the mother and see pictures or video of the father (sire).
You can discuss with the breeder the faults each parent possesses
(maybe the mother has an over bite, or the father is a little
taller than the standard). You can't predict exactly what
the puppy will turn out like, but you'll know what to expect,
and you'll know that your purebred puppy will resemble his
breed. Why spend so much money on a pet shop puppy without
even knowing what the parents look like?

Price.
For the money that pet shops want you to spend, you'd expect
a lot more. Think about all the things responsible breeders
do that pet stores don't: They choose the parents based on
health and temperament issues; they make sure both sire and
dam are free from disease or illness; they raise the puppies
with an eye toward getting them housebroken and socialized;
and they help make sure the right puppies go to the right
homes. A responsible breeder never breeds just to make money.You
get what you pay for.A healthy puppy will cost you much less
than one that needs medical treatment that can run into the
thousands. Save money and get a better quality puppy at the
same time.

What do
you know about the breed?
Pet shops can tell you a little about the breeds they sell.
And they can point you to a rack of generic breed books. That's
it. A responsible breeder will be a wealth of information
about the breed you're interested in. She'll be able to tell
you about unique breed characteristics, ways to get involved
in activities your dog might be suited for, and most importantly,
she knows what specific health issues to watch out for and
is available to you by telephone to answer your questions.

Do you
want to support the puppy mills?
How do you know most pet shop pups come from puppy mills?
Because NO responsible breeder would EVER sell their puppies
to a pet store, for two reasons:

1)
Responsible breeders care about the puppies they produce,
and want them to go to very carefully selected homes.They
will NOT sell you a puppy just because you want one.You
will be interviewed to see if the puppy and your household
is compatible.

2) Keeping track of litters is an essential part of responsible
breeding. If two puppies from a certain litter die from
liver failure at a young age, the breeder knows there's
a problem in the line and will not breed the parents again.
What does that say about the breeders of pet shop pups?

What's
that pedigree worth?
Pet shops make a big deal out of their pedigrees, which is
interesting because they just contain a bunch of names. Can
the pet shop tell you how long the puppy's grandparents lived,
and what they died of? How many of the parents littermates
are still alive? How long do dogs in this pedigree usually
live? A responsible breeder can answer all of those questions.
You get not just a pedigree, but all of the important information
behind the pedigree. The bottom line...Buy from any private
breeder you are comfortable with but,NEVER BUY FROM A PET
STORE .